Recovery is a vital part of any exercise program; but  precovery? That’s right; sometimes I down my recovery drink before I go out riding!

My usual pre-ride snack is a banana or a cupful of grapes; often with peanut butter. Sometimes I’m out of peanut butter; or I’m simply not in the mood for bananas. I don’t always have grapes on hand; and I don’t have time for a real meal.

Going for a first-thing-in-the-morning ride on an empty stomach isn’t the best idea. At least, it isn’t for me. I’ve heard about fasted training; but I think I’ll skip it. Even with that pre-ride snack, I often get hungry before I’m back home; and my morning rides usually aren’t much over one hour long.

I have to have something; so if that recovery drink is sitting in the fridge, I’ll grab it. Once in a while, in spite of a pre-ride snack, I get too hungry before I can get back home; and that’s why I carry a few GU-Gels with me. They’re my emergency rations, because I don’t need to bonk!

Today I didn’t go out on the road bike. I had some errands to run; and the apartment search goes on. I also wanted to tune in to a webinar about Medicare that my employer is hosting today; that’s information that I’ll need in the not-so-distant future.

Unfortunately my laptop couldn’t connect to the program. I guess it doesn’t have enough memory. I’m sure it was recorded, though; and maybe I can listen to it next week, when I’m back at work.

When I ride anywhere now — even if it’s a short trip — I need something as precovery to cool me off before I go out. This morning it was in the low 80s before 7 am!